Story+1981-06-08+Birmingham,+England

“There’s certain things when you grow up that you sort of mark your life by...like I remember where I was when I first heard “Like a Rolling Stone” (crowd cheers) and...before that I don’t remember anyone asking me “How does it feel?” (chuckles)...but I also, I think everybody remembers where they were the day, the day they heard that Elvis died...and...there’s something that...I’d seen him only a few, I guess it was a few months before that in Philadelphia ...and...I wasn’t really surprised since he looked bad and he looked like he was...he was tired...but...it was hard for me to understand how...how somebody that had...had been so alive inside and had had so much could in the end end up so poor and...and, it seemed to me, frightened and lonely...”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to “Johnny Bye Bye”**

“We’re only warming up now, you know (crowd cheers) we’re gonna take a short break, then we’re gonna come back and we’re really gonna rock you so (crowd cheers) so we’ll see you in a little while, okay? (crowd cheers) don’t go home, alright? (crowd cheers) …”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, after “Thunder Road”**

‘‘Me and Big Man, we used to...sit out on my porch...I used have this house that was on this main street in town...next door to this gas-station...and we used to sit out there...every day ‘cause every day ‘round 5.30, there’d be this girl who’d walk home from work... we’d always be eyeing her up, watching her walk by...and we used to say ”Now, I’m gonna introduce myself and say...ask her phone number,” you know...but I would never do it (chuckles)...now...so we decided, instead of direct approach, we would try various ways of attracting her attention...so I had 18 bucks and I went downtown ...there was this Western Auto Store that sold auto parts and cheap guitars and I bought this guitar...I came back and learned the chords to “Twist and Shout” (crowd cheers) I would sit there every day, in place, she’d come walking by and I’d be sitting there with the guitar and, you know, try...to be cool or whatever (chuckles)... nothing, she didn’t even look over...Clarence would come riding by on his bicycle with a saxophone (crowd cheers)...(?)...she didn’t even look...so eventually I moved out of that house, that was the resolve to the problem...but sometimes it’s good if you never meet, meet those kind of people ‘cause they always stay with you in a little place...remember?...here she comes walking down the street …here she comes walking down the street…she’s looking so fine, she’s looking so sweet…and someday I’m gonna make her mine…I know that I will…someday I’m gonna make her mine…I know that I will…I know she’s gonna stop instead of walking on by…she’s gonna stop instead of walking on by…she’s gonna stop now instead of walking on by…(sings the words “little girl” plenty of times)…come back, Baby… ”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to “I Wanna Marry You”**

“Thank you (crowd cheers) a little echo, alright, one, two, slap (?) gonna ramrod all night long – let me get it right now…”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to “Ramrod”**

“Ladies and gentlemen…I’m so glad to be here tonight in your hometown (crowd cheers) and I’d like to bring you up to the part of the show where we do the band introductions (crowd cheers) now beginning, to my far left – your right…we got a man, his hands are registered with the FBI and the CIA and the police and everybody because they’re dangerous weapons, the man touches the keys and grown men fall to their knees, good girls go band and the bad girls get worse! (crowd cheers) I’m talking about Professor Roy Bittan on the piano (crowd cheers)(?)(Roy plays)...and now I’d like to introduce to you a young man, poet of the soul, master of rock and roll, he brought you such great hits as “I Don’t Wanna Go Home,” “Sweeter Than Honey,” “This Time It’s For Real,” “Some Things Just Don’t Change,” “Daddy’s Coming Home,” the great Miami Steve Van Zandt on the guitar (crowd cheers) on the bass guitar, we got a gentleman – what can I say? (?) he’s good looking, can I say that he’s a hell of a humanitarian? no, I can’t say any of those things so let me say Mr. Garry W. Tallent on the bass guitar (crowd cheers) and now a special introduction, we got a gentleman here who’s on stage playing his last night as a single man (crowd cheers) read ‘em and weep, girls, read ‘em and weep, we got a man here that next time he comes out he’s gonna be married, he’s still gonna rocking all over the world but he’s gonna have to confine his roving to New Jersey – alright, we got a man, let me introduce to you the Mighty Max Weinberg on the drums (crowd cheers)(Clarence plays a snippet of a song I don’t recognize on the saxophone)…on the far right of the stage we got Phantom Dan Federici on the organ (crowd cheers) and last but not least (crowd cheers) he’s known to his friends as the greatest living human being in the world (crowd cheers) around home we just like to call him master of the universe (crowd cheers) emperor of everything (crowd cheers) prince of the city, duke of Paducah, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall women in a single bound, am I talking about a bird? (crowd: “No!”) am I talking about a plane? (crowd: “No!”) am I talking about a bus? (crowd: “No!”) no, I’m talking about is, is, is…spotlight on the Big Man… (…) Wherever you are…come on outta there!...”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, middle of “Rosalita”**

“I’d like...this is the last...last show of our tour here...I’d like to take...just a second and ask you...the people that have been working with me for a long time...I feel like I have about the greatest crew in the world, they put all of that stuff up for you (crowd cheers) they come in real early and they leave real late and nobody gets to see ‘em, except for this man (chuckles)...but...they need a thank, all the guys that do all this work (crowd cheers) this is for all you guys...”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to “Jungleland”**

“I wanna thank everybody for coming down to the show tonight (crowd cheers) I wanna, I wanna thank youse for making our, our trip over here just as, as great as it was, thank you (crowd cheers)…”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to “Born to Run”**

“Boys…I feel like moving now (crowd cheers) I think I’m gonna get a bad case of the moves! (crowd cheers)(?) I feel a little better…Big Man, I see…I see…I see a train… (…) That’s all I can stand, I can’t stand no more…all aboard!...”
 * 08.06.81 Birmingham, England, middle of “Detroit Medley”**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//